Update [2007-5-5 7:39:40 by Eric Hz]: From the AJC: "He does work out at first base on a daily basis," manager Bobby Cox said. "He's such a good catcher, you hate to move him. But we have a good one, too.
Is it better to be right for the wrong reasons than right for the right ones? In fantasy baseball, all that matters is being right. The Braves recalled top prospect Jarrod Salatalamacchia just as I had recently mentioned it as a potential course of action following the Ryan Langerhans Give-Away.
Unfortunately, I wasn't prescient enough to see a bat to the head of back-up catcher Branyan Pena which necessitated the move nor did I consider the pre-exisitng hand injury of Brian McCann. However, I ask, "Why didn't the Braves bring-up a AAA filler like Corky Miller to cover what few games All-World Catcher Brian McCann may miss?"
With McCann at catcher, Saltalamacchia has no path to full-time catching duties with the Braves. He's 22-years-old and effectively out of a postion. Fortunately, he has enough hitting skills to make a transition to first base.
Is it too early? There will be very few who say it isn't. Can the Braves do it anyways? Yes. I am interested to see how the next 15 days play out. Will there be talk of him playing every day? Will there be talk of him being able to play frequently enough to stay in the majors? How about taking groundballs at firstbase? Platooning with Scott Thorman? Craig Wilson getting his ABs in the OF?